ACT and SAT Reading Test Preparation

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I've been meaning to let you know how (student) did on his SAT. He came up 20 points in his reading (450 to 470) and 50 points in his math (500 to 550), . . . Thanks so much for all your help. We really appreciate everything you did for him." Cary SAT Prep

Reading is coachable: No matter what you may have heard, there is some conformity in the nature of ACT and SAT questions and answers from year to year. The BrainTrust ACT and SAT Writing and Reading Preparatory course normally requires 6-8 hours of specialized instruction, and will improve comprehension, grammar and writing skills.

" We just wanted to thank you again, (student) made the score she needed for UNCW. " SAT Prep, Raleigh

Our primary suggestion for everyone — READ! Far too few students read for pleasure, and their scores suffer when it comes time to take the reading comprehension sections of the ACT and SAT. In other words, vocabulary drilling only goes so far. Learning new vocabulary words for the exam itself is great, but seldom will overcome any pre-existing comprehension shortcomings.

Because many students either cannot or do not read as much as students in past years, they find themselves distracted and intimidated when called up to examine sentence structure or write a simple essay. We will be able to ease this pressure, in their own home, without fear of wrong answers or peer pressure.

NEW SAT Exam Format

The new Evidence-Based Reading section of the SAT is 65 minutes long and consists of 52 questions. All of the questions are passage-based and in a multiple choice format.

Passages are often paired with charts or graphs and will be selected from previously published literature. World Literature, History and Science are the chosen fields of study. Science passages may require the student to analyze presented hypotheses.

By helping your student familiarize himself with the SAT format, the point of each paragraph, and how it fits into the overall scheme and structure of the passage, we ensure the student may then deal with the ideas and focus on the passage in its entirety.

Many do not know the SAT tests often contain very short, very dense passages, followed by questions requiring answers turning upon a single word. We can teach the student how to approach these issues.

Process of Elimination

"(Student) scored a 98/95/99 percentile on Math/Reading/CogAT. Thank you! That means he is still within the range for consideration into the LEAP program."Chapel Hill Elementary Test Prep

Focus upon wrong answers: We focus not only upon right answers — but why wrong answers are wrong. There are common patterns. Year after year, the test authors will put foward the same "land mines," which test takers have had trouble negotiating for a generation. We will show the student these when they appear.

We let students know we have all been there. Many of us who went on to excel in very demanding graduate college programs encountered concepts in certain classes we found frustrating. We will do what we can to provide positive feedback.

One of our basic tenets: This is going to be a joint process. We are not here to do the work for the student. We will work with the student until all the key, fundamental processes are clear, so that by test day the student will feel more than adequately prepared to excel on the ACT and SAT reading comprehension sections.

With your BrainTrust tutor's support, you and your child can approach the reading comprehension portion of the ACT and SAT with confidence.